Bolasie joins Sporting on loan

Yannick Bolasie's search for a club for this season has ended in Lisbon after he agreed a deal with Sporting on loan.

A Bola had reported earlier that Bolasie was on his way to Portugal to secure the temporary move after proposed loan deals with CSKA Moscow and Anderlecht fell through.

Bolasie reportedly turned down a move to Moscow on Friday and a possible return to Anderlecht, where he spent part of last year on loan, failed to materialise after the deal was deemed too complicated.

The 30-year-old joined Everton in 2016 as one of Ronald Koeman's high-profile acquisitions but was struggling to live up to his £25m price tag when he suffered a serious knee injury that could have ended his career.

He regained full fitness but was unable to force his way back into the Blues' first team under successive managers and was sent out on loan.

Bolasie, who is out of contract at Everton the summer after next, had tweeted his frustration with his situation yesterday, saying that people are "playing with my career like LEGO," but now has somewhere to ply his trade for 2019-20.

Reader Comments (71)

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James Stewart 1Posted
02/09/2019 at
20:27:03

Sad the way his career has gone post injury. Surprised there were no takers in the EPL, definitely has his moments. Would rather see him coming off the bench than Walcott his is drastically worse.

Paul Hewitt 2Posted
02/09/2019 at
20:59:29

Walcott worse than Bolasie. Can't agree with that I'm afraid.

Mark Frere 3Posted
02/09/2019 at
21:12:58

"People are playing with my career like LEGO."

Well Yannick, I'm sure Everton would gladly cancel your contract by mutual consent. Are you willing to sacrifice your massive weekly wages so you can find a club that better suits your career? Yeah thought not!

It really is tough nowadays to shift deadwood because players sign massive contracts and are unwilling to take a pay cut to further their career. So we end up with a situation where Bolasie goes on loan and we still pay a large chunk of his wages while on loan.

Mirallas didn't always appear to have the perfect attitude but he was willing to take a pay cut to secure his dream move back to his homeland.

Sam Hoare 4Posted
02/09/2019 at
21:22:20

Mark @3 well said. Of course the injury was not his fault but financially I think Bolasie must be the worst buy we have ever made? £25m down the drain!

Don't think we will see his like again as Brands favours younger players who have lower wages and re-sale value. Even if Kean was bad for 2 years I expect we'd still be able to flog him for £10-20m based on his initial potential.

Brian Wilkinson 5Posted
02/09/2019 at
21:40:48

None of our big money earners are going to get us a transfer fee, its a case of keep loaning them out, until their contracts expire.

Why would a club buy them, when they know they can loan for a season or so.

Be another season or so, before we have offloaded our surplus players.

Thank god we have Silva and brands bringing in some astute signings.

Christy Ring 6Posted
02/09/2019 at
21:41:46

Mark @3,

Regarding Mirallas taking a pay cut, it wouldn't surprise me if his agent done a deal for the last 12 months of his contract.

Tony McNulty 7Posted
02/09/2019 at
22:06:20

At his best (before joining us) he had some brilliant moments for Palace.

But he hardly "regained full fitness" after his injury. On the contrary, it seems to have left him finished.

Sad. A lot of money for very little as it turned out.

Len Hawkins 8Posted
02/09/2019 at
22:24:59

Sam #4 £25million could have bought TWO Niasses instead.

Barry McNally 9Posted
02/09/2019 at
22:25:31

We have him until June 2021, FFS!

Derek Knox 10Posted
02/09/2019 at
22:28:02

I was not happy when he was bought, I reckon at the time he was a £10M-11M at best, he was good in the odd match then nothing for 6 matches or so, no Koeman/Walsh pay almost 3 times that.

Felt sorry for his injury, but that does happen unfortunately, but Everton looked after him throughout, he tried to make a comeback but wasn't in future plans. How many loans has he had, none of them working out, and he slags Everton off for treating him like LEGO.

As Mark @3 said if he wanted to get away from the Club that has treated him so badly, and Palace allegedly wanted him back, why didn't he rip up his contract and go on a free? No he wants it all in his favour without losing any of the Lottery wages he is on.

Glad he's at long last found a Club, but it's a loan so presumably this will be an issue again when his loan ends, not sure when his Contract with us runs out.

Si Smith 11Posted
02/09/2019 at
22:36:23

Not a fan, never have been !

This guy is on Twitter and Instagram rapping like an absolute clown, then posts a tweet during or after the Villa game, then posts another about the club messing with his career.

What a fool.

Fact is we made the guy a very very rich man when we decided to take a chance on a guy who at 27(-ish) had never played at a better level than lower half premiership. He had managed around 5 goals a season during his games, and around the same amount of assists. For me he should appreciate that during his injury we stood by him, despite the fact that before his injury he had proven he was bang average.

Bolasie has turned down moves, changed clubs at his own will last season when leaving Villa, and clearly decided that although he wanted a move, he would not take a hit on his huge wage packet. Now me saying this may sound bitter, you might say why would he take that hit. Well I agree, don't take the hit, but it can't work both ways, he can't want super star wages without being a super star, then not be willing to lower his wages to get a game at the level his abilities permit him to play at.

He has a huge ego, he believes he is much better than he is, and the club are better off without him.

Goodbye and good riddance.

Jerome Shields 12Posted
02/09/2019 at
23:05:20

Glad to get his hefty wages partly of the books. Unfortunate with his injury, but was never able to come true on his supposed potiential.

Peter Warren 13Posted
02/09/2019 at
23:07:09

Wish him the best of luck.

Don Alexander 14Posted
02/09/2019 at
23:18:11

Against the Everton of his day as a Palace player, Bolasie usually ripped us a new one. That's because we were weak in mind, body and leadership in the boardroom, and it seeped into Finch Farm.

Against any other team, Bolasie was a quick, big, awkward unit who scored a mere handful of goals, unless we were the opposition.

He's part of the pre M&M regime who were comfortable to be unsuccessful for decades. By the time his exorbitant contract was/is to expire, if he goes, we should finally be shut of the huge corrosive inadequacy of our "leadership" for the past quarter century.

Drew O'Neall 15Posted
03/09/2019 at
00:17:02

I wish him luck.

Did a lot of work with EitC and put in 100% effort when fit.

If you're offered the contract you take it. Not his fault.

Always wanted to prove himself here and Everton AND the player are the victims of his injury.

Mark @ 3 - I expect Mirallas pocketed a nice signing on fee more which was more than compensation for his outstanding wages in return for Everton accepting no fee. I'd like to believe he took a pay cut to leave but I don't.

Sam @ 4 - Bolasie is nothing like our worst ever signing. I can think of 20 worse. How long have you been supporting Everton? Don't you remember; Drenthe, Van Der Meyde, Kroldrup, Bilyaletdinov, Nyarko, various wonderkids who never played, fucking Muller the Brazilian who couldn't add up the PAYE, I could go on all night...

Phil Lewis 16Posted
03/09/2019 at
00:26:19

Useless from the word go. First impressions were he's another Peter Beagrie. Went from bad to worse. Nobody else was after him for the silly money we paid. Mugged once again.

Palace certainly didn't want him back. Crazy wages on a long contract, means we can't even give him away. He must go down as of the worst big-money signing that we have ever made.

Thank God for the current regime. Once this remaining deadwood is cleared, the future will look much healthier.

Vijay Nair 17Posted
03/09/2019 at
01:01:30

Loan confirmed finally on the official site.

Pity we couldn't find a another home for Martina and Niasse as well, but all things considered, good work by Brands on shifting most of the deadwood.

Kieran Kinsella 18Posted
03/09/2019 at
02:51:28

Martina and Niasse being the only “deadwood” left is pretty amazing. We've done better than I expected!!

Gavin Johnson 19Posted
03/09/2019 at
04:17:43

A good move for the player and for us. I was beginning to think that he'd be stuck in limbo. Personally, I would have let him have a go from the bench at Theo's expense if we'd have been stuck with him.

Jerome Shields 20Posted
03/09/2019 at
04:24:08

Don #14,

Unfortunately you are right on both counts. I am hopeful on the playing side now that things are gradually changing, though Everton have still a long way to go and a drag still exists from that era.

Jim Harrison 21Posted
03/09/2019 at
04:29:57

Glad he is away again, I dont have the strong opinions of him that others do, but he isnt of the calibre of players we currently need.

When he signed I thought over priced, but we needed to pay to get in better quality than we had to move on. I still think that is true to a degree, but now we have an actual director of football!!

Off he goes, one more out the door. God knows what we are going to do with Niasse!

Steve Brown 22Posted
03/09/2019 at
05:42:05

Don't get some of the views on here, to be frank:

Was it his fault we offered Palace an inflated transfer fee? NoWas it his fault we offered him an insane salary? NoWas it his fault he suffered a serious injury so soon into his time with us? NoShould he give up that salary to suit us now we have decided we don't want him? No (who would?!)Does he have the right to have a say where he wants to/doesn't want to play? YesDoes he have the right to go on social media and tweet? YesHas he tweeted anything that is disparaging of Everton or its fans? No

John Keating 23Posted
03/09/2019 at
06:07:58

If possible we would be best offering Niasse and Martina some sort of deal to buy out their contracts, let them become free agents and find other clubs.

Even if we can save a few quid, it would be worth it.

Steven Astley 24Posted
03/09/2019 at
06:08:36

Steve #23 - perhaps it was the tweet "Oooofffff" as Villas 2nd goal went in that has caused some of "the views on here". Makes him a spoilt, childish little wanker in my book.

He is a journeyman, one-trick pony, wannabe music artist who would be more interested in appearing on Soccer AM and appealing to the masses than declaring himself committed to the club like a Cahill, Digne et al.

Should have been nowhere near our club in the first place.

Steve Brown 25Posted
03/09/2019 at
06:17:16

Steven @ 25, we dont know what he meant by that. Bit sceptical about why he would be supporting Villa when he cut short his loan there because he couldnt stand the place.

He is a bad signing for us, but no-one forced us to do it and he isnt to blame we were morons in the transfer market at that time.

Good luck to him - Sporting are a good club and he deserves a break. Now if you were talking about Kevin Mirallas....

Steven Astley 26Posted
03/09/2019 at
06:24:42

Steve #26 - You are obviously a bit wet behind the ear if you cannot translate what he means or his motive behind that tweet. Look on Twitter on his profile and it might help. The replies to that tweet. The replies to the OS twitter account announcing the loan.

Not one mention of Everton in the last couple of years and just constant tweets about other clubs and bullshit nutmegs and Cruyff turns.

John Boon 27Posted
03/09/2019 at
06:25:06

Posts have tended to be critical of Bolasie as a player. The only criticism should be directed toward Everton for signing him in the first place. Who on earth decided that he was worth £25 million plus?

Drew O'Neall 28Posted
03/09/2019 at
07:24:46

Steven Astley - No, youre uninformed.

He regularly ‘committed himself to the club saying he wanted to fight for his place and he also did plenty of work for EitC as well as making lots of pro-Everton posts on social media.

Sam Hoare 29Posted
03/09/2019 at
07:34:06

Drew @15, you maybe missed the part where I said ‘financially' our worst signing. None of those players you mention cost even half of what Bolasie did.

As you asked, somewhat patronisingly, I've been supporting Everton for about 20 years.

Tony Everan 30Posted
03/09/2019 at
07:51:58

The lad shoudn't be bleating, he just isn't good enough to make the bench for us any more. There are better players in front of him.

As has been said, he has had great opportunities to kick start his career and prove himself exceptional and worthy of his place.

He has failed to do so.

The injury has wrecked his career, not Everton. It is a shame we can't claim insurance for it. If you buy an expensive car and it gets wrecked and you cannot fix it, the insurance pays out.

That's what has happened with Yannick, he has had a catastrophic injury which was unfixable to the extent of giving him all his pre-injury speed and agility.

Alan J Thompson 31Posted
03/09/2019 at
07:58:50

He's gone from London to Liverpool to Birmingham to Belgium and then turned down Russia for Portugal. Didn't that used to be called "railroading"?

He doesn't need to tear up his contract, he has only to say "No" to any move. All he has done is to agree to a better deal when Everton offered it to him and then suffer a bad injury. Are we looking at a poor employee or a poor employer?

Then again, how many of us would say no to that money.

Jim Bennings 32Posted
03/09/2019 at
08:30:40

Drew 15

You are a tad harsh there mentioning Bilyaletdinov in the same sentence as that Dutch pisshead Van der Meyde.

Moyes cocked up playing Bily out of position when it was clear to everyone (including the Russian National team, who he thrived for) that behind the striker was his best position.

Moyes had a quirky fetish for playing square pegs in round holes and he played Bily on the left which was a waste of our time and his.

Whenever he was central, he had the best left-footed shot I've seen since Sheedy.

I think Bily was one player we signed that we could have got more out of if he'd been used more frequently in a more accommodating position.

Joe McMahon 33Posted
03/09/2019 at
08:42:27

Darren Gibson also did very well from Everton. At least Yannick wasn't a drink driver in expensive sport cars.

James Stewart 34Posted
03/09/2019 at
09:34:46

@5 care to elaborate? Walcott is one of the worst players I have ever seen and, being an Everton fan since the early '90s, that is saying something!

Good on Bolasie for rejecting Russia as well. I don't agree with the comment having a go at his character based on his social media either; off the pitch, he is a great ambassador.

Ray Robinson 35Posted
03/09/2019 at
10:01:45

I can't blame Bolasie for accepting a lucrative contract or for rejecting a move to Russia where racism is still rife. We negotiated an incredibly bad deal – but it seemed an exciting one at the time. Even before his injury, I'm not sure that there was much end product to his play – even though he used to petrify our defence when playing for Palace! Good luck to the chap, I say.

Have we still got Niasse on our books? If so, is he getting a game anywhere – ie, with the U23s?

Mark Wynne 36Posted
03/09/2019 at
11:01:28

If I'm reading it correct, both Niasse and Martina are out of contract in the summer. If anyone wants them (and in Niasse's case that has to be a big if) they could sign pre-contract deals in January. That of course doesn't necessarily mean they will leave early, but they certainly would have less wage leverage in any negotiations.

Bolasie is definitely something of an open sore that will cause us more frustration for some time to come, but the one I'm really pleased to see go is Mirallas. I know hindsight is a wonderful thing, but we should have bitten Daniel Levy's hand off when Spurs came a-sniffing for him. Instead, he got improved terms and has never looked even half worth it since.

Colin Malone 38Posted
03/09/2019 at
11:08:54

In defence of Bolasie as with Michael Keane, it didn't help them when the ball was constantly in the air under Big Sam and Ronald Koeman.

Gavin Johnson 39Posted
03/09/2019 at
11:46:35

Drew #15, I think you're being a bit harsh on Drenthe. We didn't buy him and he was one of our best attacking outlets when he played. True, he fucked up being late for Moyes's team meeting before the FA Cup semi-final against the Red Shite but, if Moyes wasn't so stubborn, he'd have played him and it could have been a different result because he had the natural ability to change the game.

Dave Pritchard 40Posted
03/09/2019 at
11:58:57

One of those players where the bad injury seems to have robbed him of the ability he had. Some classic TW bad-mouthing of a player going on here which is uncalled for. Everton signed him and gave him whatever contract he was given. He has been to Villa and now off to Portugal so, unlike some other players, he does seem to want to play rather than just sit out.

Derek Knox 41Posted
03/09/2019 at
12:02:34

While we are talking of deadwood, and the relief to offload most of them thanks to the diligence of M Brands, I think the one that irritated me the most was Mirallas.

Mainly because he DID have talent, when he felt like playing, and was usually in and around the goals, BUT it was his attitude that proved to be the most annoying aspect, he was happy to pick up his ill-gotten gains to fund his extravagant lifestyle.

Martin Berry 42Posted
03/09/2019 at
13:00:33

Good luck to the player and I wish him the best.

I think the "clearout" at Everton has been remarkable considering the squad size prior to M & M's appointments.

Stan Schofield 43Posted
03/09/2019 at
13:34:19

Bolasie was a useful signing by Koeman at the time. Arguably overpriced, but useful nevertheless. He linked up quite well with Lukaku, and contributed to a fair number of goals. He had the pace and some of the threat we needed in the wake of Martinez's last season.

He was probably suitable for what we needed then, but not of the calibre we're signing now. Obviously the ACL injury buggered him up big time, because pace was one of his attributes before that injury.

Jay Wood[BRZ] 44Posted
03/09/2019 at
13:52:15

I'm not one to stick it to departing players. Good luck to the lad at his latest loan club, who also happens to be my Portuguese side. As I still keep up with Portuguese footy, I'll watch how he settles with interest.

I will add I was never convinced by the signing of Bolasie and certainly not at the price we paid for him. As the market was at the time, we could have landed a younger Zaha for the same price. Bad luck on his injury, but even before that, he wasn't pulling up trees at Everton.

The club and its decision makers at the time burdened us with a lot of mediocre players, on high wages and long contracts, which still remains an anchor stopping us from recruiting even more effectively than we have since Brands and Silva arrived.

On a related note, I see from this report on the BBC that Everton is one of the clubs open to the idea of re-aligning the closing of the transfer window with the other European leagues. That is, closing it on 31 August, rather than before the PL season starts.

I know plenty on here pushed for a closing of the window before the English league season opened. I was not one of them. Given the wide range of starting dates for the different European leagues, it was apparent to me that English clubs complicated things for themselves by having a shorter transfer window to operate in, as well as STILL being vulnerable to losing players to European clubs with no possibility to replace them should a player move on (as some have).

I still maintain that the whole system of two transfer windows is flawed, an artificial byproduct to generate fevered interest in the transfer rumour mills so beloved by the 'meedjah' (and football fans, it has to be said). An open market only closing in April used to work perfectly well. From recall there was also less hyper-inflation on player values also.

Craig Walker 45Posted
03/09/2019 at
14:37:21

I'm not sure it was just Everton that he played well against whilst at Palace. I remember him once getting a standing ovation by the RS at Anfield for ripping them apart. He never really did it for us and has been a costly mistake but I was quite excited when we got him. I thought he'd offer us some pace at least. He suffered an horrific injury. I remember some people in the Bullens Road end were thinking he was acting at the time it happened. Glad he's moved on but I wish him all the best.

Drew O'Neall 46Posted
03/09/2019 at
14:37:40

Sam - 30

Fair comment. The players I mentioned were signed for relatively small sums but Bily was £9.5m and I think Van Der Meyde was similar. £10m was probably more than £25m in todays money but I cant argue that it is more cash to layout for someone who didnt end up playing as many games as we (some of us anyway) would have liked.

Steven Astley 47Posted
03/09/2019 at
14:41:44

#29 - 'Drew' - Nothing uninformed about my posts (#25 & #27)

You've just ignored what I've said across the two posts and just dreamt up something I didn't just so you could step on your soapbox and say someone is "misinformed".

This lad, pound for pound, is possibly the worst signing we have made in the Premier League era. Every time he got the ball you'd fully expect him to lose it or it to run out of play.

Crystal Palace (where the fans love him) didn't want to re-sign him, so what does that tell you? He doesn't have the concentration, ability (even before his injury) and teamwork ethic to elevate us to the next level.

We stood by him whilst he back to full fitness and then has the audacity to put out ill-timed tweets like he did. The guy is a total journeyman, Harlem Globetrotter of a footballer.

James Stewart 48Posted
03/09/2019 at
14:53:23

On Bolasie, I'm not accusing anyone on here of being a racist for not being positive about Bolasie. I do find the tone of comments towards him unfair though. I don't remember him ever playing terribly or not putting in 100% when on the pitch for us. His partnership with Lukaku was one of the best in the league prior to injury I seem to remember. So some pointing to his ego etc... based on what exactly? A social media post, give me a break.

Bolasie's only crime was suffering a horrific injury and just not being as good as we all wanted him to be. Hardly his fault. Off the field, all who know him say he's a model pro. Which is more than you can say for Mirallas. To think/hope Bolasie would give up on 2 years of his biggest ever contract for the love of Everton or the game is a little naive.

Michael Lynch 49Posted
03/09/2019 at
16:48:08

Great footballer in his day. Unfortunately that day was almost entirely the one before we signed him. Good luck to the lad, it didn't work out for him once he signed for us and a combination of injury and loss of form has pretty much ruined the latter part of his career. Hope he does well in the future.

Justin Doone 50Posted
03/09/2019 at
16:58:23

Everton are to blame for spending money on bad buys and credited for good buys.

Now the list of good v bad is debatable but the player doesn't negotiate anything financial. He probably had very little say other than he's prepared to leave a club for another.

This isn't the 60's when players mostly agreed deals directly with the owner or manager. Both sides leave it to their specialist teams.

He wasn't a player I wanted at the club but thought he'd add pace, physicality and directness that we sorely lacked at the time. He could be the super-sub, the outlet or work hard and get in their faces player.

I've not seen him play post injury but pre injury he had similar traits to Walcott. Pace and directness. Both lacked skill, vision and passing ability. Neither are good enough for our team anymore, their raw talent stayed raw.

Neither are bad players, just a bit one dimensional. Like Seamus, how a professional footballer can be so bad at crossing a ball is beyond me. But he's a defender and makes up for it in other areas.

Thanks, he had some good games, good luck too him.

Bobby Thomas 51Posted
03/09/2019 at
18:06:21

Work with a couple of lads, fans of different sides (Bolton, Man Utd), who genuinely still think he's absolutely brilliant. That's how he sucks you in. Then he plays for you every week and you soon see the reality - which is that he's an inconsistent liability with mostly no end product.

1 good game in 4 and may look good on the highlights. A Match of the Day player.

Drew O'Neall 52Posted
03/09/2019 at
19:40:30

Steven - 49

'Drew' - Nothing uninformed about my posts (#25 & #27)You've just ignored what I've said across the two posts and just dreamt up something I didn't just so you could step on your soapbox and say someone is "misinformed".

I referred specifically to your comment in post 25 about ‘committing to the club as indicated by the quote marks.

By comment 27 you were already on your soapbox accusing Steve @ 26 of being ‘wet behind the ears way before I got involved.

It was early in the morning, perhaps you hadnt had your breakfast.

Jack Convery 53Posted
03/09/2019 at
21:34:16

Wish Bolasie the best of luck – if he plays well they'll keep him. Can we loan Martina and Niasse to Southport? – No, wait a minute: they're not that badly off.

James Newcombe 54Posted
03/09/2019 at
22:35:35

How the hell is Niasse still on the books?!

Paul O'Neill 55Posted
04/09/2019 at
04:55:31

Best of luck, boy.

Brent Stephens 56Posted
04/09/2019 at
07:47:03

Best of luck, mate. An expensive signing. Never worked out but really bad luck with his injury.

Peter Gorman 57Posted
04/09/2019 at
09:10:25

Good luck, Bolasie.

Pete Edwards 58Posted
04/09/2019 at
14:24:33

You'd have hoped that there was a clause when buying him related to appearances, goals etc that will never be hit so might have saved some money there (Walsh wouldn't have done that though would he!)

Paul Birmingham 60Posted
04/09/2019 at
19:22:54

I reckon if we go through the TW archives 3 years ago, many were not enamoured with the signing of Bolasie but as Evertonians we took him in, and gave him a chance and he'd flourish.

It didn't happen, in his day may be 1:10 ratio of decisive games for Palace.One such game I recall they done the RS, 3-0, on our old ground, and he scored a cracker in the Kop end.

But such moments were always few and far between. The power and skill was unreliable. The injury he suffered was terrible and I'm not sure that this factor has hastened his performance.

Good luck to him and no doubt he and others under hefty contracts will impact Everton's bottom line for a couple more years.

Good luck in his quest to secure a move, but I sense same again this time next year, which will be his last year of contract.

Jay Harris 61Posted
04/09/2019 at
20:09:15

Just off topic but I hope Mike and Lyndon will excuse me bringing it up here but the Echo are showing an "alternative league table" based on 2019 results for the year with some surprises in there.

We are showing 6th but Palace are showing 4th (interesting given their current position) and Watford are showing 16th with Spurs 10th and Chelsea 7th and Arsenal 3rd. So the start to this season is currently following that trend.

I do believe this season presents us with a unique opportunity and hope that we seize it.

Andy McNabb 75Posted
05/09/2019 at
01:40:22

Was extremely sceptical when he arrived and he was unfortunate to do so when we were throwing money around like it was confetti. Palace saw us coming.

I appreciate we need to get players like this off the wage bill but I am also conscious of the human cost in these situations. It's too easy to throw the huge wages argument at these individuals. He is not wanted, has been shifted from pillar to post and now has to relocate to another country.

Does he have a family? Are his kids at school?

We want 3 points every week but I think the impact on individuals is often forgotten about when we deem players not good enough.

I wish him well.

Greg Anderson 76Posted
05/09/2019 at
01:56:12

I for one feel very sorry for Bolasie. It can't have been easy for him these last 3 years. He had finally won his big move to a (relatively) big club, settled very well and had some success, then suffered a horrible year-long injury. Since then he has basically been discarded as a has-been by the club, continually shunted around to one lesser outfit after another, as if we are embarrassed by him.

When he arrived, he was by our standards a pretty exciting player. Even if not everything he tried came off, his pace and outlandish skills could unsettle opponents, and he was beginning to form a very good understanding with Lukaku. His overall contribution could not be simply measured by goals and assists, and he still produced enough of those.

More important, unlike Lukaku and Mirallas, he was a manifestly decent and likable guy and clearly loved playing for us, perhaps because he was never a feted youth player and had battled his way up from obscurity. His has been a really abrupt fall from grace, one that hardly seems deserved.

Mike Gaynes 77Posted
05/09/2019 at
05:28:22

Andy, yes, Bolasie is married with two small children, not yet school age I believe.

Greg, bravo and amen. Although it was Sheedy's double free-kick that officially converted me to an Evertonian, the club had already attracted my interest because of all the similarities you mention.

Andy McNabb 78Posted
05/09/2019 at
07:16:41

Thanks for the info Mike - at least the kids don't have to move school.

In the modern world, football transfers are one of the more bizarre employment situations. So out of step with the vast majority of society.

Ed Prytherch 80Posted
05/09/2019 at
17:20:14

Mike. As a Brit who lives in the US I enjoy reading your posts about football but I am disappointed when you use the forum to promote your dislike for Trump. For the record, his daughter is married to a Jew and she converted to Judaism and his grand kids are Jewish.

He pushed for and signed into law the sentencing reform bill that has resulted in a large number of African American men being released from prison where they were serving excessive sentences for non-violent crime.

During his presidency unemployment among people of colour – Black and Hispanic, is the lowest ever recorded and workers in the bottom 10% of earners have received the largest % pay increases in the past 12 months and people of colour are over-represented in that group.

Peter Neilson 81Posted
05/09/2019 at
17:37:36

Ed, has this been posted to the correct site? I'm disappointed when you use this forum to promote your support for Trump.

Brian Williams 82Posted
05/09/2019 at
17:40:48

Mike's made some very valid points though Ed, not as though he's mud slinging with no evidence.

Kevin Latham 83Posted
05/09/2019 at
18:07:28

Ed, Mike was making a direct response to Sam and therefore his contribution was relevant in my – and I hope others' – opinions. But I must admit I'm having some difficulty reconciling your disappointment that Mike has used this forum to comment adversely on Trump with your own comments regarding his record on the same forum. The argument defeats itself, surely?

Mike Gaynes 84Posted
05/09/2019 at
18:42:03

Ed, yes, thank you, the American Jewish community is well aware that some Trump family members are Jewish.

That being the case, why do you think that approximately 85% of us will vote against him in the next election?

Trump calls it “total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”

Incidentally, some of my distant relatives formerly belonged to the Pittsburgh synagogue where an outspoken Trump admirer gunned down 18 Jews. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but I have some very good reasons for mine.

Mike Gaynes 88Posted
05/09/2019 at
20:51:57

Brian and John, I love that expression! Thanks.

Mike Keating 89Posted
06/09/2019 at
21:28:29

Not Bolasies fault Koeman was an over indulged prick who threw money at average players and cost the club a fortune.

Francis van Lierop 90Posted
22/09/2019 at
19:16:41

I saw him play the 90 minutes at PSV in the Europa League match.He wasn't bad, but didn't do anything special.

If Sporting want to buy him, fine by most of us.

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